Magnificent, Marvellous, Mighty Monday and Kate Bush The Last Angel

I cannot enter into August without bidding the wonderful Kate Bush a Happy Birthday for July 30. I loved the June issue of UNCUT magazine which payed tribute to Kate's album Hounds of Love and contained quotes from musicians paying homage who had worked with Kate. Fascinating to read behind-the-scenes of her vision and creativity.
Here' a quote from the mag about Hounds of Love: “The album distils many of Bush's recurring obsessions; water, witchcraft, death, the power of the senses”.
There will only be one Kate. She is the original and the pure. All the others are the imitators and don't hold my interest for very long, no matter how talented they may be.
And here's a quote from UNCUT from Lee Scratch Perry: "The music industry is full of devils. But Kate Bush is the only angel left. Music must have a pure heart. It must have madness. It must have genius. That is why I love Kate Bush.”
That's also why I love Kate Bush. She is the last angel.
In Australia we have just passed Imbolc/Candlemas and we are turning towards the light. Spring is coming after a long and harsh winter. Kate Bush and I also share a love of washing and washing lines and so I've posted a picture of a lovely washing line above to herald Imbolc. The light is coming!
You're here in my headLike the sun coming out -Ooh. I just know that something good is going to happenAnd I don't know whenBut just saying it could even make it happen. Kate Bush - Cloudbusting.

images of Kate source

washing line image source

Fabbo Friday and Fab Op-shop finds

Regular Tale Peddler readers will know I love op-shops (thrift shops to overseas readers) and EBay. Here are a few of the fab and lovely things I've purchased recently.

1/ Mark and Mandy book. Daisy adores these sweet stories of two cousins and their adventures. This one is in new condition and so it will be a surprise in her Christmas stocking gifts. (I hope she takes the hint in the title!)

2/Cath Kidston bag. I always love CK's use of colour and this pink and green bag 'pops' nicely.

3/Toile curtains. I picked these up for our tiny loungeroom. I love toile and this has charming scenes of village life.

4/Kate Bush book. This classic came from a French EBay seller. It's another from the '80s. I used to borrow this book from the school library and it brought back many pleasant memories as I perused the photos of the amazing Kate.

5/Poodle shower curtain. A vintage '50s shower curtain featuring French poodles against a background of Eiffel Towers and pink macrons and baguettes was probably my most extravagant purchase, as I already have several white shower curtains. But I couldn't resist those poodles!

It is fortunate my writing, Blogging and playing with Daisy takes up all my time or I would blow our budget out with op-shops and EBay.
Is there anything you can't resist when shopping? Do tell!

I wish you a relaxing weekend filled with abundance in all areas of your life. I've just received my two US subscription magazines (Cookie and Romantic Country) and so I have plenty of light reading.
Keep creative and stay chirpy. xx

Magnificent, Marvellous, Mighty Monday and KATE BUSH

I wish Kate Bush had been part of my mother's group. She'd be the coolest person to talk to and I'm sure we'd have hit it off and spent a lot of time discussing creativity, parenting, ghosts, the Brontes, graveyards, baby formulas, vegetarian food and enjoyed scouring op-shops together and watching our children play in parks.

I say this because somewhere in the UK Kate is living a normal life raising her son, Bertie, and doing all the normal motherly things. In her latest brilliant double-album, Aerial ,she sings tender homage to laundry chores and to Bertie. I love this album so much! It was worth the long years of anticipation wondering if she would ever record again.

The first time I saw Kate I was watching Countdown on a Sunday night, probably with my beans on toast on my lap, when THAT MUSIC STARTED. And there she was - red dress, huge eyes, reaching arms – witchy evocative other-worldly Kate singing that incredible Wuthering Heights song which eerily seemed to encapture the spirit of the book. I fell instantly in love as I choked on my beans, as did millions around the globe, and it seemed impossible that one so young could have written such an incredible piece.

I love Kate for many reasons. She's not like a modern pop star courting media attention. She's content to live a normal life and create her genius quietly. She put her career on hold to bring up Bertie and concentrate on being a mother. She proves that sometimes quality is better than quantity. Each album, although unmistakably 'Kate', is an evolution.

She shows us that age isn't a barrier to creativity. A schoolgirl can pen Wuthering Heights whilst the more mature woman pens brilliant odes to washing, motherhood, death of a parent and quieter reflections that are totally original and critically acclaimed as masterpieces. In a world of the bland, the copied, the narcissistic needy, Kate reminds us that not every performer is about fame bottled to reflect their own insecure vanity. Some artists are more concerned about the work. I adore the surreal nature of her albums. Only Kate would sing so lovingly about washing and include Rolf Harris playing didgeridoo.

In a recent interview she said that having Bertie changed her creative process totally. Before she was used to fourteen hour stretches in her studio but motherhood meant she was only able to work in short patches over the years and sometimes not at all. But this was good for her creativity as it forced her into situations where she had to step back from it. She is a great reminder to all of us who feel frustrated trying to raise families and work in the 'real world' that we can afford to slow down and pace ourselves.

And so for Magnificent, Marvellous, Mighty Monday, let us celebrate the wild, eccentric, haunting genius of Kate Bush! May her original, striking songs inspire our own creative efforts this week.

· Her subjects come tripping from library shelves, television and cinema screens and musty books of fairy tales, the stuff that dreams are made of. She spins tunes that haunt, twist and turn the mind, triggering long forgotten moods. Listening intently to her albums is an experience akin to having a lucid and feverish dream. Jungian symbols of youth, innocence, spiritual escape and the dark, feminine realm abound. Ghosts haunt the black vinyl grooves... But it's not all brooding intensity. There are jokes, too...

Sue Hudson



· For the last 12 years, I've felt really privileged to be living such a normal life. It's so a part of who I am. It's so important to me to do the washing, do the Hoovering. Friends of mine in the business don't know how dishwashers work. For me, that's frightening. I want to be in a position where I can function as a human being. Even more so now where you've got this sort of truly silly preoccupation with celebrities. Just because somebody's been in an ad on TV, so what? Who gives a toss?

· Kate Bush